Hand of God at the Riverside: Middlesbrough 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Article by e-Nottingham Forest Correspondent David Bassett

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Nottingham Forest earned a much needed point against Middlesbrough at the Riverside last night in controversial fashion. With Forest a goal down to Mustapha Carayol’s strike just after half time, Forest were pressing for an equaliser. The introduction of Andy Reid was pivotal to Forest’s comeback and it was Reid’s cross that met Darius Henderson who used his forearm to smash the ball past the Middlesbrough goalkeeper. Boro were outraged. Understandably. Oh well!

Football fans are fickle. When Maradona did this against England it was despicable and was condemned by every England fan. I still believe if an England player scored with his hand in a World Cup we wouldn’t be bothered and when Henderson scored last night I was just relieved we didn’t suffer defeat again.

The display was much improved by Forest and they were facing a Middlesbrough side who had not conceded at home since mid-December. Gonzalo Jara was moved back to full back as Greg Halford was rested. Full backs for me should be mobile, quick and be able to track tricky wingers. Halford has limited pace and I feel he should be utilised either at Centre Back or as a Target man which he has shown to be effective against QPR, Leeds and Reading.

Forest still lack a striker who is lethal in front of goal as Simon Cox missed a host of chances to ensure Forest went in front at half time. Nottingham Forest is like the graveyard for strikers. Most strikers that come to Forest fail to perform and hit the standards we require and we live in hope that one of the current crop of strikers will find a purple patch for the run in.

Djamel Abdoun demonstrated why he is so frustrating to watch. Abdoun gets into so many excellent positions but his delivery is shocking, hitting the first man time and time again.

I think Middlesbrough could be promotion contenders next season if they add 2 or 3 decent midfield players as they seem solid at the back and Graham will score goals at this level if they manage to secure him on a permanent basis.

The best news of the night in my opinion wasn’t that we equalised in the last 10 minutes which was obviously a massive plus but the fact our talisman Andy Reid has returned and was instrumental in our comeback.

As our captain Reidy has been by far the player of the season this year and after taking over the captain’s armband from the injured Chris Cohen, he has shown leadership qualities through his performances and is having a fantastic influence over Jamie Paterson. With 9 goals and 12 assists this season the stats back up the plaudits that Reid has been receiving this season.

One Lansbury and Vaughan return too Forest have a midfield that is one of the best in the division. Until then Forest need to keep up with the chasing pack and then go into the playoffs hopefully with most of their key players back.

Forest head into a home clash with Doncaster on Saturday with them needing 3 points on the board as Reading host Derby. If we win and Reading beat Derby then we go into the East Midlands Derby next weekend a point behind them to add even more spice to this fixture.

On the whole, a deserved point at the Riverside.

Even if we did resort to Volleyball to get that elusive equaliser.

Comments are Welcome.

COYR

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